Submit to God's Royal Son

For thousands of years God has warned people that He must be obeyed. Even before Jesus came to earth King David wrote these words. Be warned, you rulers of the earth! Serve the Lord with reverent fear, and rejoice with trembling. Submit to God’s royal son, or he will become angry… Psalms 2:10-12 (NLT). It is crucial that we listen to every word of prophecy. It was great love that brought Jesus the first time, but total justice will rule His return. 

Upon His arrival Jesus will show unbelievable power and authority. The Scripture says: That is why Christ did not honor himself by assuming he could become (a King or) High Priest. No, he was chosen by God, who said to him, “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father. ” Heb 5:5 (NLT). David’s warning is followed by the Almighty’s notification that His Son will exercise all God’s power when He returns. 

God said to His Son: I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession. Psalms 2:8 (NLT). Because the whole earth belongs to Jesus everyone should be in awe of Him. Instead we have fools on earth who even curse the name of Jesus. This will be dealt with when our Lord returns. After Jesus comes back to Earth truth will rule and justice will be handed out to every person on this earth. 

If we submit to King Jesus of our own freewill there will be great reward. But for the majority of the world that has not submitted there is only punishment waiting. The rule of Jesus will be very different than rule today. One prophet said: I will destroy all the weapons used in battle, and your king will bring peace to the nations. His realm will stretch from sea to sea… Zech 9:10 (NLT). When he says “your king” he means King Jesus. 

Peace to the nations will be possible only after judgment is finished. Billions of people will die during the world’s time of judgment. However the people that are left will gladly live in peace under the rule of Jesus the Son of God. The weapons of war will all be destroyed by God so that there will be no killing anywhere on the earth. It sounds impossible but all things are possible with our great God.

The prophet Isaiah said about the Son of God: For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. Isaiah 9:6-7 (NLT). The rule of Jesus will not be temporary. He will rule forever.

The person who goes to God for His people is called a High Priest. Humans have always needed someone to speak to God for them. It also works the other way. The Almighty wants to speak to the King of His people in order to give instructions to the masses. When the baby Jesus came one wonderful day, the plan of God was revealed in His life and death. Very soon the Royal Son of God will become both Priest and King forever.

For the first time a King will be so righteous that God will also make Him the high priest. The prophet said: Here is the man called the Branch. He will branch out from where he is and build the Temple of the Lord. Yes, he will build the Temple of the Lord. Then he will receive royal honor and will rule as king from his throne. He will also serve as priest from his throne, and there will be perfect harmony between his two roles.’ Zech 6:12-13 (NLT). 

If only people would submit to Jesus. He is the Royal Son of God and He has all the authority of His Father at His fingertips. The Bible says:  Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. Eph 1:21-22 (NLT). Wow! First Jesus paid our sin debt and now all God’s power works for the benefit of the redeemed.

Belief is a Miracle

Most of the people living on earth don’t believe the good news of the Gospel. They tend to think that the unbeliever must simply have confidence in the invisible God. The truth is that most people already have some kind of faith in God. Simply believing is not salvation. Every born-again Christian has had a great miracle happen inside. It is the miracle of a new birth that happens when our spirit becomes connected to the Spirit of God. 

Believing is an intellectual activity that we control. But believing in the active Gospel of Jesus always takes a miracle. God does a miracle that humans cannot explain. We can only testify to the change in our nature and thinking. Many Christians have said that it seemed as though a “switch of belief” had been turned on inside of them. New Christians will usually ask “What do I do now?” Our part is to yield mind and body to the leading of God’s Spirit.

When Paul was a young religious leader he accomplished everything by his own power. But when God knocked him down into the dirt he learned that God is in control of salvation. Paul preached that the Gospel message can be explained to people but that it still takes the miracle of a special belief. This type of belief will change a person dramatically and their desire to obey God will increase amazingly. 

Part of the reason God uses a special “miracle of belief” is to keep people from entering Heaven by using their own power. On one occasion the disciples were rejoicing that they had been saved and Jesus said: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way. Luke 10:21 (NLT)

In other words belief is a miracle. The Old Testament prophets spent a lot of time telling us that a Savior would come to the world. Then Jesus revealed that He was the special one that people all over the world had been waiting for. Paul wrote: And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Eph 3:6. Salvation is about those who can “believe” the Gospel! 

Remember that we cannot do it ourselves. The Bible says: This Good News tells us how God makes us righteous in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. Romans 1:17 (NLT). Once again, this verse is talking about the miracle of faith. As creatures of earth we have absolutely no way of knowing for sure if another person is truly a Christian. However the words that people speak allows us to know what is in their heart. 

Living as a Christian is a very specific profile. We must follow the path of our savior. One of the disciples asked Jesus the way to Heaven. Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!” John 14:5-7 (NLT). No person will ever find another way in to God’s family.  

To follow the path of Jesus requires a desire to be like Him. The longer we follow our Savior the more we understand our new life. The Bible says: …grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. Eph 1:17-18 (NLT). The wonders of Heaven await the faithful few. 

The opportunity for salvation is available to all. Paul said: This message about Jesus Christ has revealed his plan for you Gentiles, a plan kept secret from the beginning of time. But now as the prophets foretold and as the eternal God has commanded, this message is made known to all Gentiles everywhere, so that they too might believe and obey him. Romans 16:25-26 (NLT). In order to enter the family of God, we must find our miracle of belief. 

To know more about belief, the plan of God and walking as a Christian, check out a book called Pillars, by Phillip Lloyd, available on Amazon.  Even if you’ve been a Christian for a long while, this book uses the Old Testament Tabernacle to explain God’s plan for mankind from a beautifully visual perspective.